Prior to this invention a large number of above-ground swimming pools have been installed in various locations. The form of pool with which this invention is adapted to be associated generally has pool walls of approximately 4 feet (122 cms.) in height. These walls are supported by a plurality of vertical pool wall supports which are customarily spaced 4 to 41/2 feet apart (122 to 137 cms.). Customarily, a top rail is disposed over the tops of the vertical pool wall supports and the pool walls. The pool sizes may vary from 15 feet (4.57 meters) to 27 feet (8.23 meters) in diameter. These pools can be circular, oval, and even rectangular. While many of these pools have been erected in fenced yards, many were not. In any event, many municipalities now require that such pools be fenced by a 6 foot (1.83 meter) or even 7 foot (2.13 meter) fence. If a prior fence does not meet this height requirement, or if no fence existed at all, the owner of the pool may be required to erect such a fence either about his yard or about the perimeter of the pool. A pool perimeter fence obviously can be either supported by the ground or alternatively, and much more practically, be supported by the pool itself. Such pool perimeter fences customarily meet the various municipal ordinances.
As the distance between the vertical pool wall supports vary, as noted above, it has been in the past difficult to provide a retrofit perimeter fence design which is adaptable to all pools. Thus, it would be necessary to provide a wide variety of differing lengths of fence rails to accommodate for the different spacings. In addition, because the top rail of the pool will vary in width, and particularly in the amount it overhangs to the exterior of the pool, it is also difficult to provide fence post connectors which would accommodate for varying top rail widths.
In one prior art perimeter above-ground swimming pool fence design, which was adapted to be secured to the vertical pool wall supports, each fence post was supported by bottom and top post connectors. The bottom post connector was secured to the vertical pool wall support approximately 42 cms. below the top rail, which bottom post connector permitted movement of the fence post towards and away from the top rail. The top post connector was an angle bracket provided with an aperture which received the fence post, and this bracket was moved up and down the post to a desired location to establish the proper angle of the post with respect to the top rail and was then strung between the various fence posts. While this design met the municipal codes, it was unsatisfactory in a number of differing respects. Thus, in pools having top rails of large width, there was insufficient distance between the bottom and top post connectors to properly support the fence post. In addition, the fence material was aesthetically unattractive and would tend to sag between the fence posts if erected with insufficient tension.